


A Place Called Home

by animangod



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Family Reunions, M/M, Returning Home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-13 16:18:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18472555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animangod/pseuds/animangod
Summary: They have been reunited with the Clones and are on a journey home. But home means more than one thing.





	1. Chapter 1

The sky above was filled with stars and two moons. Kurogane looked up at the two crescent shapes, a soft glow to them. He idly sat on the edge of the veranda, sipping at some mild alcohol. Walking over to sit by him was Fai. Kurogane quietly poured him a drink and Fai smiled at the gesture, accepting it.

 

“How many worlds have we seen that had two moons?” Fai hummed as he sipped the alcohol.

 

“Dunno,” Kurogane murmured, “never counted.”

 

Which wasn't true; he knew it was eight worlds, two they had visited only once. Even so, Fai softly laughed at the answer.

 

“Now that we found Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan, I'm sure they would like to stay in Clow with Sakura,” Fai mentioned.

 

“More than likely,” Kurogane agreed and took a sip, nearly emptying his cup and Fai refilled it for him.

 

“Will you be going to Nihon after this?” Fai asked.

 

Kurogane didn't say anything immediately, before he turned towards Fai. He began to say something. “I…”

 

And then, Mokona hopped in, “Puu~ Mokona wants some too~”

 

Whatever he was about to say was gone and replaced with him addressing her, “.. and what do you think you're doing?” He said picking up the bottle as Mokona lunged and held onto it.

 

“Mokona is going to drink it all~” she said with a happy giggle.

 

“I don't think so, manjuu,” Kurogane chided softly, as easy as Fai's smile at the scene. Kurogane held the bottle and gently pulled her off with ease and set her down on the veranda with them and poured her a cup.

 

The previous conversation was dropped for the night and the three finished a couple bottles under the stars and moons before rechecking on the kids and chatting about the adventures had. As it got later into the night, slowly urging the three others to bed when they began to yawn, Fai and Kurogane tucked them in.

 

“Mokona will sleep with Fai-chan tonight,” Mokona announced.

 

Fai gave her small cheek a little kiss, “thank you Moko-chan. Will you be joining us, Kuro-sama?”

 

“In a little while,” he murmured.

 

“Father works so hard~” they chirped together and nearly got a hard hair ruffle for their teasing, Fai skipping a step clear of that hand.

 

“Who's a Father? To bed already, you birdbrains,” Kurogane replied as the younger three watched with fond smiles.

 

“Alright, see you soon~” Fai and Mokona blew kisses his way and there was a twitch of an amused smile as he watched them head to his bed.

 

He did his patrol, making sure they were all safe, and as he walked out under the veranda again, he looked up at the two crescent moons smiling at the world below surrounded by the bright glow of faraway stars, and made a quiet promise before he went inside, shutting and locking the doors to the outside.


	2. Chapter 2

The rain poured outside and Fai brewed tea and make some food to welcome the others back, Mokona sitting on his shoulder as Syaoran, Syaoran and Sakura came inside, and after a little bit, so did Kurogane, setting the drenched umbrella in the door entrance as he removed his soaked shoes.

 

“Welcome back,” Fai smiled brightly.

 

“We're back,” the three younger ones smiled warmly, while there was a content upturn on the ninja.

 

“Would you like some cake and tea?” Fai offered, “Fresh and warm~”

 

“Fresh and warm~” Mokona echoed in a sing song.

 

“Thank you, Fai-chan.”

 

“Thank you, Fai-san.”

 

Rather than the same thank you, as he walked by, his hand left a gentle caress against Fai's back as his fingers brushed through his hair in passing, making the gesture look like a thoughtless movement when really, he had to go out of his way in order to do so. While Kurogane didn't have the same sweet tooth the others did, since Fai made it, he was at least willing to try it although he had been practicing making good tea, he wasn't all that concerned he made a bad cup.

 

There weren't words traded but soft touches and softer looks as Kurogane moved to sit down.

 

Sakura, Syaoran and Syaoran all sat down as well by the island, climbing up on the barstools. Fai brought over one plate and one cup at a time, Mokona helping by grabbing the silverware and setting the forks down for them.

 

“One for Syaoran-kun.” Two chocolate souffle cakes were presented with a drizzle of white chocolate as well as a cup of tea and fork.

 

“One for Syaoran-kun.” Two chocolate souffle cakes were presented with a drizzle of chocolate as well as a cup of tea and fork.

 

“One for Sakura-chan.” Two chocolate souffle cakes were presented with a dusting of powdered sugar as well as a cup of tea and fork.

 

“One for Mokona.” Fai set down a cup of tea and a plate of chocolate souffles with whipped cream on top, while Mokona set down her own fork.

 

“One for Fai-chan,” she set down a fork for Fai and her paws were empty of forks, “No fork for Kuro-chan~”

 

She giggled and hopped away to sit by her own cakes when Kurogane reached to give her head a ruffle. Fai set out two cups of tea before bringing out their plates while the others began to enjoy their own.

 

The man's cheeks slowly warmed up as he stared at what was on his plate. There were two lumpy triangles made with rice in the very distinctive onigiri shape. Since when did Fai learn how to make this and moreover, seeing Fai's plate, his two were the nicer ones while Fai's one was a little messier as it sat next to a souffle.

 

“I…”

 

“Father hasn't eaten yet and already he is warming up~” Mokona teased.

 

“Eat you cake, manjuu!” Kurogane retorted before finally eating his own.

 

“Do you like them, then?”

 

“Ah..they...they were cute,” Kurogane said softly.

 

“What was that?” Fai asked 

 

“I. I said they were ok*.”

 

Fai grinned knowingly as he saw the color return to the man's cheeks and ears and how Kurogane averted his gaze, “I'm glad.”

 

 

* According to Translate, if you drop kawaii to ka, it goes from cute/pretty/lovely/darling to OK. 


	3. Chapter 3

“You still up?”

 

Fai turned from the window and looked over towards the man, “No I am sitting~” he said jovially.

 

“The kids've already passed out for the night…Manjuu is with them.”

 

Fai moved from the balcony, the chill of the night following him inside. It was another desert world and with the sun having set, Kurogane went to bed with this world's manga, reading it in the lamplight.

 

“You really do love that series,” Fai commented with amusement.

 

“Hn,” he hummed.

 

Fai slid into the bed to read the manga alongside Kurogane, or rather stare at the pictures, like the ninja was doing, the writing in a different style than either of them could read in.

 

The swirly letters were written in a similar fashion to the ones the Syaorans recognized from travels but just enough off, a few words took more time to translate for their companion.

 

“What are they talking about?” Fai asked, leaning further onto Kurogane and getting an arm slung around his waist for his efforts.

 

“They both want to ask the question of what home means, but keep beating around the bush instead. Right now, they're talking about the change in the season.”

 

“What do you think home is?”

 

“Home? Home is… whatever the heart says is home. It can be stuff like a place, or food, or things, or people.”

 

“I wonder what my heart says is home. It's not like I have a home to go back to.”

 

“Nothing wrong with finding a new home,” Kurogane murmured and turned the page, wondering how long it would be before the question was asked and understood.

 

After finishing the chapter, he put it away and moved to sleep, turning off the lamplight and lying down. Fai moved to snuggle against him, burying his face against his chest, and Kurogane softly let his hand rest against the back of Fai's head.

 

“You better have good dreams tonight, or I'll come in there and chase the monsters out of your head,” Kurogane murmured.

 

Fai softly laughed at that, “alright, Kuro-sama. I'll let Father do all the hard work~”

 

He got a light ruffle to the head for that.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you still waiting?”

 

Fai looked over at Kurogane, whose gaze was on their four ‘kids’, building up leaf piles and rolling around in them, building the pile up with Mokona's Super Suction and then cannonballing into the gold and red and brown foliage.

 

“Waiting for what, Kuro-sama?”

 

Kurogane recalled the lyrics Oruha had sang in the bar back in Outo.

 

_ I long for joy… _

_ I long for joy with you… _

_ I long for joy of you… _

_ So take me along… _

_ Take me long and far… _

_...to somewhere far from here. _

_ The farther you take me… _

_ The more I long for your joy! _

 

He remembered how Fai spoke wistfully about he was a guy that always waited for the one who would take him along.

 

He began to open his mouth to say something, but Fai spoke first.

 

“Maybe I'm waiting for Kuro-chu to stop looking like a grump on a log and come have fun with everybody else,” he teased.

 

He closed his both for a moment as it seemed his real question flew on by. So instead he ruffled Fai's hair a bit roughly, Fai's arm flailing at the treatment. “Who you calling a grump on a log?” he huffed.

 

Unceremoniously, Kurogane then picked Fai up as he stood up and seeing the giggling, wiggling Fai in Kurogane's arms, their ‘kids’ moved out of the path before Kurogane dropped Fai inches over the leaves. Fai grabbed Kurogane's cloak and pulled him down with him. Leaves clung to their clothes and hair and they threw handfuls of leaves at one another before the others rejoined and piled on top or helped throw leaves in an affectionate playful display, and it didn't take long for Fai's hair to fall free, the ribbon he used to tie his hair falling out.

 

Soft laughter was heard as there was youthful smiles and even Kurogane found himself grinning a little. No matter what the worlds had thrown at them, sometimes it felt good to feel carefree again.

 

An hour or so later, Kurogane dug through the leaves looking for Fai's ribbon until he finally found it.


	5. Chapter 5

“Have you decided, Kurogane-san?”

 

“Hime…”

 

“About what you plan to do? Have you decided?”

 

He moved to sit on the edge of her bed, as she looked at him.

 

“I've only decided what I want. But what I want doesn't affect just me.”

 

“You know Syaoran-kun, and Syaoran  and I plan to go to Clow, right?”

 

“I had a feeling. I figured the kid would want to for sure, to be back with his princess,” he murmured.

 

“What will you and Fai-san and Moko-chan do?”

 

“That… “ he paused before softly sighing, “I don't know, Hime.. but before we arrive in Clow, we'll talk. We'll talk and decide what we are going to do.”

 

“Alright, Kurogane-san,” she nodded, trusting his word.

 

He gave her a fond smile as he brushed her bangs away from her forehead, “sleep well, Hime.”

 

“You too, Kurogane-san.”

 

“Yeah,” he said agreeably, slowly standing up and headed to the door.

 

“And Kurogane-san?”

 

“Yeah?” he turned to look back at her.

 

“Please don't forget to look after yourself too.”

 

“..I'll keep that in mind.”

 

Stepping out of the room, he gently closed her door. He checked on the boys, who were still up reading. He gently shooed them to at least go to bed. Even if they continued to read until they passed out, it would be on pillows and blankets rather than the kitchen table.

 

He could hear Mokona and Fai telling each other stories, so he went to the bathroom and grabbed the small round jar of ointment and the old wounds he could reach easily, he rubbed a generous amount into. He waited a few minutes for it to sink in before taking it with him as he went to see Fai and ask him if he wouldn't mind assisting him with the old wounds he had trouble or simply couldn't reach on his own.

 

Fai seemed to understand before Kurogane even had to ask, seeing the jar in his hands. With a soft smile, Fai agreed and he gently handed over Mokona to Kurogane in exchange for the jar as he encouraged Kurogane to sit in front of him.

 

Kurogane did so without a complaint.

 

“Would Kuro-chan like to hear a story?” Mokona asked.

 

“Sure,” he agreed.

 

Mokona told a story about a princess named Rapunzel as Fai gently applied the ointment over Kurogane's injuries.


	6. Chapter 6

Fai walked into the shared room, seeing Kurogane and Mokona having a conversation over tea while strong liquor sat nearby and unopened.

 

“...will Kuro-chan be fine?”

 

Kurogane reached over and gently pet Mokona's head. “You let me worry about that for now, alright?”

 

Mokona reached up and hugged his hand and Kurogane used his thumb to gently stroke her fur.

 

Fai smiled fondly seeing the two before walking closer. “Not drinking?” He asked.

 

“Was waiting,” Kurogane murmured, looking over his shoulder.

 

Fai was briefly surprised by that before smiling and moving to sit next to Kurogane.

 

Mokona moved from hugging Kurogane's hand to hopping over to Fai's shoulder and giving his cheek a kiss, "Mokona will see you later."

 

"You're not staying to enjoy the drink with us, Moko-chan?"

 

"Mokona needs to talk to the other Mokona. So Mokona will join you two later."

 

"Ah, alright, Moko-chan. Have fun talking to Moko-san."

 

Fai moved to sit next to Kurogane as Kurogane slowly opened the bottle of sake and poured Fai a cup. When Kurogane set the bottle down, Fai grabbed the bottle and poured Kurogane a drink.

 

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Fai asked.

 

"That is…" Kurogane began before fumbling on his words. Just because he knew  _ what _ he wanted to talk about, did not mean he knew  _ how _ to talk about it. "The princess confirmed they plan on living in Clow Country."

 

"I see… And you still plan on returning to Tomoyo-chan?" Fai asked picking up his own drink.

 

Kurogane picked his up and took a sip. "I… haven't decided entirely."

 

"Huh?" Fai spilled a little sake, completely surprised by that. "Wait - weren't you always planning on going back to Nihon."

 

"..... originally. But there's one thing that's changed."

 

"One? What could have possibly changed your plan from going back home?"

 

"My meaning of home is now different."

 

Fai looked speechless before Kurogane continued talking, "what about yourself? What is it you want to do?"

 

"What if I said, I want to keep traveling?"

 

"Then, I'd go with you." There was no hesitation as Kurogane said it before taking another sip.

 

"Even after we make it to Nihon?" Fai inquired.

 

"As long as that is what you want, then yes," Kurogane said solemnly.

 

"Why though?" Fai asked "Won't you be glad to stay home?"

 

"As much as I care for my Nihon and Tomoyo and her sister and Souma, home is whatever world allows me to live with you by my side. If that is Clow, if it is every world from here until the end of my time, if it's Nihon… as long as you're there, it will be home."

 

Fai's cheeks turned a soft pink at those words and he finished off his drink, Kurogane pouring him more. Silence lasted for about two refills before Fai spoke.

 

"Will Moko-chan be wanting to stay with her other half?"

 

"She would love to get to be with her brother once again…although if you had no intention of staying with me, then she would stay with me as I would have no way of sending her home."

 

Fai grew quiet for a bit before he answered, "then I think what I want is to travel some more. I want to travel until all our kids are safely home. And then… then I will take you home."

 

Fai smiled as he saw the flush tint the man's face. Kurogane reached over with his mechanical arm and slowly set his palm atop Fai's empty hand.

 

"I already am home."

 

Fai let out a warm gentle laugh before leaning into Kurogane, "I hope you know you're asking to be stuck with me forever."

 

There was a fond smile growing on his face as he replied, "Forever isn't long enough."


End file.
